Father Files Propecia Cognitive Dysfunction Lawsuit on Behalf of Dead Son

The father of a twenty-nine year old New York resident, now deceased, is the plaintiff in a Propecia cognitive dysfunction lawsuit brought against the pharmaceutical giant, Merck & Co. for allegedly causing the wrongful death of his son.

The suit was filed June 27, 2014 in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York where it will be coordinated into Multidistrict Litigation No. 2331.

The factual allegations of the suit are simple. In June 2011, the young man was prescribed and began using Propecia for his alopecia or male pattern baldness. During the Propecia regimen which was used as prescribed by his doctor, the man, according to the lawsuit, “began to suffer and was diagnosed with erectile dysfunction, related sexual dysfunction, and gynecomastia” ( enlargement of the breasts).

The young man also experienced a worsening of his pre-existing depression and anxiety conditions. He continued to suffer from these adverse side effects until his death one year later on July 4, 2012.

The Propecia lawsuit claims damages on the grounds that “as a direct and proximate cause of these side effects, the young man suffered significant pain and suffering, his quality of life was severely diminished, and resulted in his untimely death.” The father also says that their family continues to labor under significant pain and suffering as a result of the young man’s death.

Merck failed in its responsibility to warn the public of serious side effects

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) initially approved finasteride (5 mg) in 1992 under the brand name Proscar as a treatment for benign prostate hyperplasia (enlarged prostate). In 1997, the FDA approved Propecia (1 mg finasteride) for prescription use as a cosmetic treatment for male pattern hair loss.

To date, over one hundred million men in the United States have used Propecia and/or Proscar since Merck & Co., the defendants, introduced the prescription drugs into the U.S. market.

According to this Propecia cognitive dysfunction lawsuit, the defendants manufactured and marketed their hair loss drug to consumers without adequate warning that Propecia could cause cognitive impairment, in addition to lowered sex drive and other persistent sexual side effects including:

• Erectile dysfunction (ED)
• Diminished libido
• Reduced sexual sensation
• Erectile problems
• Gynecomastia

The lawsuit alleges that the defendant manufactured and aggressively marketed Propecia to hair loss sufferers knowing that finasteride was reported in published clinical studies to cause persistent sexual dysfunction in as many as 39% of its users. It was further reported that only 50% of patients experienced resolution of their sexual function adverse events after discontinuation of finasteride.

Cognitive dysfunction from Propecia is focus of several new studies

The Propecia depression risk has been explored in several studies. In 2012, the Huffington Post reported on a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, which showed men taking the drug may experience symptoms of depression. In some test subjects, the symptoms persisted after the drug was discontinued.

Researchers found that 44 percent of the test subjects in the study had thoughts of suicide, while 28 percent had moderate symptoms and 36 percent had severe symptoms of depression. None of the subjects had a history of depression before using Propecia.

A more recent study published in the American Journal of Men’s Health in June 2014 confirmed that Propecia side effects like cognitive impairment and psychological symptoms could persist long after the medication is stopped.

Family deprived of love, companionship, affection, and support of son

On behalf of the family and lawful heirs of the son, the Propecia injury lawsuit demands compensatory, special and punitive damages for the “wanton, willful, fraudulent, and reckless acts” of the defendant, Merck & Co.

This case will join more than 700 Propecia lawsuits centralized in MDL 2331 currently underway in New York federal court with U.S. District Judge John Gleeson overseeing the proceedings.

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